custom

Feb

WidgetLocker Updated To v2.0, Adds Support For Themes

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Mods, News

The long planned, much anticipated update to WidgetLocker that adds themes has been released, and it's every bit as awesome as we expected. Perhaps the best part about it is that there's already a broad selection of themes available in the XDA thread, and it's likely that number will increase substantially as time goes on thanks to the groundwork laid by previous WL mods.

Once you find a theme you like, installation is very, very easy:

1) When clicking on a link in the form of http://…foo.wltheme.zip, chose WidgetLocker to open the link rather then your browser.

Feb

[Updated] CyanogenMod 7 RC1 Now Available For 17 Android Devices

Posted by David Ruddock in Gingerbread 2.3, Mods, News

Warning: This article contains information about flashing custom ROMs to your phone. If you're at all new to this, give our complete guide to custom ROM flashing a read.

Well folks, the day has finally come: the Gingerbread-based CyanogenMod 7 Release Candidates have landed for 17 Android devices. These "RCs" are suitable, generally speaking, for everyday use and have been road-tested enough that TeamDouche feels they're almost ready for prime time. Hit the links for the individual threads, which contain instructions and download mirrors:

Happy flashing, and be sure to read the instructions if this is your first go.

Feb

[Hands-On] Make Your Clock Widget: Because Everyone Should Have A Totally Customized Clock

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Apps/Games, Mods, News

The open-endedness - particularly, the customizability - of Android is exactly what makes me love it so much. And Make Your Clock Widget is a perfect example of that, offering seemingly infinite possibilities for what you can create. Don't believe me? Take a look at the sample screenshots:

Intrigued, I took a few minutes to play with it, and came away hugely impressed (note: I didn't include a picture of my final clock because... well, I made a goofy clock just playing around with the app.)

You can add the date and time in nearly any fashion or format you can think of - there are tons of options available.

Feb

Hands-On With The Honeybread Theme For CyanogenMod 7: It's The Bee's Knees!

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Gingerbread 2.3, Honeycomb 3.0/3.1/3.2, Mods, News

Ever since the official Honeycomb video preview was unleashed at CES, the blogosphere has been aflutter with admiration for the update's stunning UI. It didn't take long for the developer and modder community to push out Honeycomb-like visuals, either - for example, the clock widget has been available for a few weeks.

Now there's an even better way to get that Honeycomb feel, at least for those running CyanogenMod 7 (CM7): Honeybread. I've been running the theme for the past few days, and I'm seriously impressed. (Side note: I had to flash CM7 to try the theme, and I'm hugely impressed with it, as well as Gingerbread.

Feb

Half-Baked Port Of Cyanogen Mod 7 Hits Galaxy Tab - Why This Is Hurting Android

Posted by David Ruddock in Android OS, Editorials, Mods

There's been exciting news floating around the blogosphere today of a "working" beta of CyanogenMod 7 for the Galaxy Tab being released. Just one caveat - it isn't really CyanogenMod 7.

Before I go onward with this rant, I want to make it crystal clear that I have nothing personally against the developer who ported CyanogenMod 7 to the Galaxy Tab, people like him (or her, of course) are part of the reason I love Android. But they're also part of the reason I have become increasingly frustrated with the custom ROM community's professionalism and ethical standards at large. Let me explain.

Feb

New Official Froyo ROM (DL30) For Samsung Fascinate Leaked Completely Unchanged - Bloatware And All

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Fascinate, Froyo 2.2, News, Samsung, Verizon Wireless

We have some somewhat good news for Fascinate owners: a new, official, very final-looking Froyo build DL30 for the Samsung Fascinate has been leaked, and it's been released completely unmolested (short of pre-rooting it). Even the bloatware has been left intact.

Obviously, the silver lining here is that we can see that Samsung and Verizon are making progress, and this could be a sign that the update is closer to being ready to roll out. (Then again, that could just be naïve optimism.) On the flip side, the only people who will find this immediately useful are the ones who are rooted, and those people are probably already running a custom Froyo ROM already (and likely one without the bloat).

Jan

ADW Launcher EX Update Released - Includes Custom Docks, Bug Fixes

Posted by David Ruddock in Applications, News

An update to the popular custom launcher ADW EX was released today, and it adds a feature many ADW users have been clamoring for: custom dock backgrounds. While it may sound trivial, some have used the lack of a custom dock option in ADW to declare Launcher Pro the superior app. ADW EX comes with 8 of its own custom docks, though you can use any image from your gallery as a dock background. The update also includes a few additional customization options (you can find the full changelog here).

To get the custom docks, hit the Menu button while on a homescreen, select More, ADWSettings, UI Settings, Main Dock, Dock Background, Custom.

Jan

Android Lovers, Meet Awesome Custom Boot Animations

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Mods, News

XDA member Dysgenic was apparently unsatisfied with his current Android boot animation - so like any good Android lover, he decided to do something about it. The result: an ever-expanding list of absolutely awesome boot animations. Just take a gander at these two (there are currently 8):

Installation is essentially comprised of three basic steps: first, download the animation(s). Second, rename the one you're using "bootanimation.zip." Finally, use ADB to push it and overwrite the existing animation. Alternatively, you can use an app to handle the dirty work.

I've yet to try one myself (although I will later), so I can't speak from experience here, but I'd guess these may not be silky-smooth on lower end hardware (hell, it's giving my netbook a hard time - yay Atom).

Dec

Android, Evolved - MIUI Beta #5 Coming December 31st. If You've Never Witnessed MIUI, This Is The One To See [VIDEO]

Posted by Artem Russakovskii in Mods, News, Videos

The MIUI custom ROM has pushed the limits of creativity and customizability ever since it was unleashed a few months ago by Chinese developers, seemingly out of nowhere. At times, you can't even recognize that this is actually Android, which, I suppose, is actually a compliment to Android itself. If it didn't resemble the iPhone UI so much at times, I would have probably enjoyed it a lot more, but nevertheless, it's incredible to see what a smart group of talented people can come up with when they put their minds together.

This article deals with a couple of advanced topics.

Dec

How To: Customize Your WidgetLocker Lockscreen

Posted by Aaron Gingrich in Applications, Mods, News

Many people who use custom themes or launchers are familiar with WidgetLocker. What many people don't realize, though, is that customizing WidgetLocker itself is a fairly straightforward task. Better still, there are plenty of existing customizations available, meaning that you have to do little more than shove your modified .PNG files into the APK.

_{Before / After}

Dalton Gore - better known as @colormeandroid - is responsible for gathering the individual mods and creating the guide. While the guide is a little too light on details for newbies, it does provide the luxury of choices - he provides instructions for 5 methods: